


World of Fire

by melagan



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-10 21:07:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13509792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melagan/pseuds/melagan
Summary: In the face of an extinction level event, John and Rodney find a unique way to save the city of Atlantis.





	World of Fire

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Apocalypse Kree. Beta by Mischief5

Rodney watched their faces and waited for the truth to sink in. It didn't take long. Elizabeth, John, and Radek stared at the screen with varying degrees of dismay. 

"There isn't any way..." Elizabeth began, reluctant to accept the data in front of her. Rodney figured she'd take it hardest, but before he could respond, Radek spoke up. 

"Extinction level event is clearly unavoidable." Radek's face grew soft and regretful as he answered her. He stepped close, not to touch, but to be near enough to reach if she needed a shoulder. 

Radek had always been gentler with Elizabeth than he'd ever managed, and for that Rodney was grateful. 

"Rodney is right to show us this," Radek continued. "Time is of the essence. We must abandon this planet before it is too late."

"Leave the city after everything we've accomplished?" Elizabeth protested. "There's so much left to explore...." Her voice trailed off as she turned away from the screen. 

She sounded so hurt, even Rodney was tempted to offer some show of comfort, but as things stood any comfort would be meaningless. Besides, Radek was much better at that sort of thing. Instead, he turned to the display, unable to look any of them in the eye. With a touch, he magnified the image and pointed to the ridge where a new volcano had formed. Part of him wished he'd used the large monitor in the gate room instead of the smaller one in his lab. A quick look at the others assured him that the extra effort wasn't necessary. They all understood exactly what they were looking at. 

Feeling a need to point out the obvious, he nodded at the display. "The planet-wide chain of volcanic eruptions will make it impossible to stay here. We should leave as soon as possible."

He didn't need to turn his head to know that Radek had shuffled closer to Elizabeth to offer some vague reassurance. It might be a waste of valuable time but he did agree with Radek's quiet assertion that this was something none of them wanted to do. 

"We still have the ZPM Colonel Everett brought from Earth. Surely, we have enough power to use the shield to protect the city." Elizabeth's words were aimed at Radek, but her gaze caught Rodney's begging for a different answer. 

He couldn't give it to her. "Radek's right. It won't be enough, not for long enough. We're talking about an event that will last years, likely decades." Rodney jabbed a finger at the display in frustration. "We've never seen a chain of volcanoes all erupting at the same time like this. The entire southern plateau has become completely unstable. Elizabeth, we should start sending people through the Stargate back to Earth as soon as possible."

"Since we don't have enough power to engage the stardrive, we can’t relocate Atlantis." John leaned forward. "Rodney, do we have enough power to sink her?"

"Yes, but we still have finite power to the shield. What are you thinking?" Caution flags started waving in his brain. Sheppard and risky tended to go hand-in-hand. Rodney just knew he had some wild idea that would probably involve one of them saving the other's life.

"How long will it hold?" John asked.

"Given the ocean depth and pressure—" Rodney began running calculations in his head.

"And depending how much our already depleted ZPM is further drained by opening the gate to Earth," Radek added, jumping into the conversation.

Rodney scowled. "Yes. Of course, how much power is drained by opening the gate to Earth." He nearly elbowed Radek in the side to finish his point without further interruption. "Best case scenario is a week."

"Maybe," Radek said. 

"What do you mean, maybe?" Rodney demanded. "You've run the numbers as well as I have."

Radek held up his hands in self-defense. "We could get another two days if we—"

Rodney snapped his fingers. "Use the Mark II generators—"

"Yes! And it may be possible to tie in the jumpers' batteries—"

"No good." Rodney frowned. "We need the jumpers for—" 

"True, we should not expend their power unless there is no other option," Radek said, nodding in agreement. 

Even without turning his head, Rodney was aware of John's Pavlovian response to his mention of the jumpers. 

"What about my jumpers?" John snarled.

"Relax, Major." Rodney did his best to pacify John with an airy hand wave of confidence. "You can let your spine unbend. I promise we aren't going to do anything with the jumpers that you won't approve of." 

"It's Colonel. You should know that by now, McKay. It's been over a month."

"Yes, yes, and I'll make a note of it as soon as we're not all about to die from a chain of fiery eruptions." 

"Gentlemen, if we could stay on topic, please." Elizabeth arched one delicate eyebrow as her resolve shifted into rescue mode. "We have a week, possibly nine days, to evacuate everyone to safety. I want each of you to come up with a viable plan and have it on my desk within the hour."

As they filed out of Elizabeth's office, John tapped Rodney on the elbow. "Come with me. I have an idea."

Rodney went along, too curious not to. Besides, some part of him never could resist Sheppard when the man asked for his undivided attention. It did catch him by surprise when John headed straight for Rodney's second favorite lab.  
He let himself be pulled over to his computer and sat down.

"Remember telling me about the moving drilling station?" John asked.

"The mobile geothermal drilling platform the Ancients built?" Rodney pulled up the file he'd been working on in his off-hours. "You want to try to use geothermal energy to power the shield."

"Yeah. Will it work?"

Fingers flying over the keyboard, Rodney hit the enter key with a flourish. "I just initiated the recall program. It's now on the way back to Atlantis. How much good that will actually do us depends on how long it takes to get here."  
John just stood there with his arms folded across his chest. 

"It's a viable option, Maj…Colonel. All this volcanic activity is also opening vents all over the sea floor. I'll put a team on it and have them map the nearest and largest sources of geothermal energy."

"McKay, I feel a plan coming on."

Despite his best efforts, it was impossible not to smile in the face of John's enthusiasm. Besides, if this actually worked, they might not have to abandon the city after all. 

What he couldn't explain was how seeing John's face light up did something weird to his heartbeat. 

With a quick nod, John turned and left the lab, leaving Rodney just sitting there to finish fleshing out the details. He watched him leave, no doubt to chase down Ford or Teyla and find out how the evacuation plans were proceeding.  


Back to the plan, right. Tapping at the keyboard one-handed, he pressed two fingers to his carotid artery to check his pulse. Maybe he shouldn't have had that third cup of coffee.

~*~

Entering the conference room, John handed his computer tablet to Teyla. They'd discussed this in depth already and all their notes were on it. All that was left was to present the details of the evacuation to Elizabeth. Allowing Teyla handle it let him focus on the plan he and McKay had cooked up. He slid into the empty chair next to Rodney's.

Rodney didn't bother to look up, but he did turn his laptop so that John could see the display without craning his neck. Rodney's lower lip tightened just enough that John knew he was biting back a smile. Oh yeah, they were doing this. 

He nudged his knee against Rodney's to signal his approval.

"If you really appreciated me, Colonel," Rodney whispered back, "you'd have brought me a cup of coffee."

Elizabeth stood. "Now that you've had a chance to think about our current crisis, I need to know our options. Colonel Sheppard, if you'd start, please."

John tore his gaze away from Rodney's long fingers playing across the keyboard as file after file of relevant information flashed up on his laptop screen. Throat suddenly gone dry, his voice sounded higher than he intended. He stopped, cleared his throat, and tried again. 

"We've come up with a plan that should make it unnecessary to abandon Atlantis."

Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "That is good news."

"We still need to gate people off the planet and out of the city, but instead of using the Stargate to send them to Earth, we want to relocate them in this galaxy," John said.

"To resettle temporarily," Teyla added. She laid the tablet down on the table where Elizabeth could get a glimpse of the outline of their plan. "Colonel Sheppard has suggested we use the jumpers to help move any supplies we may need."

Seeing the frown on Elizabeth's face, John hastily explained, "Teyla and Ford are ready to go the Alpha site and set it up for the rest of our people. I shouldn't have to point out that using the Stargate to relocate everyone locally instead of gating back to Earth will save us a significant amount power. Power that we could use right now." He turned toward Rodney. "Isn't that right, McKay?" 

Moving everyone to the Alpha site was a solid option. He and Rodney had talked about this. It was also vital to the plan to save as much power as they could if they were going to turn Atlantis into a submarine. 

"Sheppard's right, Elizabeth." With typical reluctant honesty, Rodney admitted, "It was Teyla's idea. She reminded me that it would be easy to gate to other planets from the Alpha site if they need supplies before the _Daedalus_ arrives." He shot John a worried look.

John couldn't help looking in the direction of the city's control room and the place where he lost two of his men while they stood guard. As his gaze swept the room, he turned and his eyes locked with Rodney's. Rodney dropped his eyes quickly but not before John noticed his hand rubbing his arm. "Let's assume she can find places to trade where the natives won't betray us to the Genii."

"No Manarians allowed, sir," Ford said, hearing what Rodney hadn't voiced, loud and clear. John heartily approved of the over-my-dead-body look in Ford's eye.

"But," John drawled, wanting to make it sound as if there were nothing to worry about, "if McKay's plan works, and it will, we'll be able to bring everyone back to Atlantis in no time. 

"What aren’t you telling me?" Elizabeth asked. "Why are you still planning on evacuating the city? You just said you had a plan so that we wouldn't have to do that."

"Hm," Rodney mused aloud, "Have you noticed how it keeps coming back around to that? The risks of me drowning, I mean." 

"No, I can't say that I have." John restrained himself from reaching out and throttling him. 

"Oh. Just me then? "

"McKay!"

"Gentlemen, please! Focus!" Elizabeth pinned her sharp gaze on Rodney. 

John almost felt sorry for him but at least she wasn't looking at him like that. When this was all over, he'd spring for the beer, find a quiet place they could escape to, and listen to Rodney rant to his heart's content to make up for it.

With a hint of steel in her voice, never a good sign in John's book, Elizabeth continued. "Tell me what you and John have cooked up that involves a temporary relocation of personnel." 

Rodney didn't even flinch at the ice in her voice. _That's my McKay_. John grinned to himself. _Nothing slows you down when you've got an idea burning in that big brain of yours._

"Undersea thermal vents, Elizabeth." Rodney turned his laptop screen so that she could see the display. "There's a large number opening up as a result of the volcanic activity. We can move the city like a submarine until we find one big enough to provide sufficient energy, but stable enough to approach safely. Zelenka is working the equations right now."

"The city can handle that?" Elizabeth asked. 

"It can. Providing we use the mobile geothermal drilling platform. The Ancients designed it for that purpose. It does the all the work and all we have to do is tap the city into it." 

"Like running the city off a steam engine," John said, striving to look suitably serious. He wasn't sure he was successful because, c'mon, anyone would admit a steam-powered Ancient city was cool.

"Essentially, yes," Rodney said, answering Elizabeth's original question. "Remarks from the peanut gallery aside."

It didn't matter how dryly Rodney said it, John knew he thought a steam-powered city was cool too. 

"And you're certain this is safe? Elizabeth pressed. "I thought undersea fissures were too deep. And what about the water pressure on the shields? And—" She held up her hand to forestall Rodney from interrupting. "And if this is so safe, why are you suggesting we evacuate everyone?"

"We're already working on minimizing the danger," John said. "Tell her, Rodney."

Rodney never paused for breath, going straight into lecture mode. "As you know, the chain of eruptions across the planet is going to throw tons of toxic particulates into the atmosphere, not to mention all of the other problems it's going to cause. Of our options, the best way to protect the city is to submerge deep enough to protect us from the fallout. We need an additional power source to make that sustainable for any length of time."

"And you want to use geothermal energy. Okay, I get that. Why haven't you mention this drilling platform before?" she asked.

"Actually, Sheppard brought it up." He turned to John, a tiny smile peeking at the corner of his mouth. "It's a surprisingly good idea." 

Refocusing his attention on the meeting, he continued, "I've initiated a recall program. The drilling platform is on its way here. But it's since it's some distance away and moving slowly, I advise moving the city to meet it halfway." 

"And we need to sink Atlantis to do this? Why not just…" she made a floating motion with her hand, "stay on top of the water?"

"The seas are already violent to the point that I have a team working around the clock monitoring the ballasts. If they go, we sink, and it's only going to get worse."

"Okay, I get it," she said, "and I agree, we should get all non-essential personnel out of the city before you turn it into the _Nautilus._ Teyla, please stay and go over that roster with me. Well, what are you waiting for? I said, yes, do it."

As they left the meeting Rodney nudged him in the side sharing a moment of boyish delight. "Think you can pilot a submarine, Sheppard?" 

"Just call me Colonel Nemo."

~*~

John met Ford at the gate and inspected the pallets already loaded and ready to roll. Ford looked good. His eye was still a little freaky looking from his run-in with the Wraith but he swore he was okay with it. He claimed he could see better at night since the transformation but John wasn't buying it. Not the enhanced vision part, that he believed, but he doubted Ford was really okay with it.

Still, Dr. Beckett had done a good job getting Ford back on his feet and weaning him off the Wraith enzyme. It had been a shaky few weeks just the same. Having Ford back on duty had been good, not just for John and his team, but for everyone. 

"Make sure you pack plenty of ordinance, Lieutenant. If this plan doesn't work, the supplies at the Alpha site are all we'll have to fight the Wraith with, at least until the _Daedalus_ arrives."

"Most of it already went through on the first load, sir. Along with the tava beans and blankets." Ford looked towards the view outside the window. "It's something to see isn't it, sir. It reminds me of when we first got here."

John knew what he meant. Sunlight filtering down through the water gave an eerie glow to the gate room. Over the last twenty-four hours, conditions had worsened quickly on the surface. Breathable atmosphere had deteriorated to the point that Elizabeth had gone ahead and given the command to sink the city. Now they were running minimal power to the lights and equipment, adding to the otherworldly atmosphere. 

"How much longer until everyone is evacuated?" John asked.

"That depends on how much of the Ancient stuff you plan to let the scientists take with them, sir." 

"Is Dr. McKay giving you a hard time, Ford?"  


"Not really. Mostly it's the other scientists. It's like now that they have their hands in the cookie jar, they're too greedy to let go."  


"I'll have Rodney talk to them, see if he can't hurry them up. Radio me as soon as the last person arrives at the Alpha site."

He was still trying to talk Elizabeth into leaving the city while he and Rodney enacted their plan. So far, he hadn't been successful.

"John." Elizabeth hailed him from the top of the stars. 

With a nod to Ford to continue transporting supplies, he jogged up the staircase to meet her. 

"Rodney just informed me that you're recalling the jumpers and some of the pilots back to the city. Is that a good idea?"

Damn. He was hoping not to have to get into this part. There was no avoiding it now. "It's just a precaution, Elizabeth. Navigating something the size of the city underwater isn't going to be like flying through airspace. I want at least two jumpers available to act as underwater tugboats just in case we need to do some tight maneuvering when we get close to the drilling platform."

"Oh, this is where you two are." Rodney walked up to them, looking distracted. "We're running short of time. The ZPM power levels are dropping faster than I anticipated. If we're doing this thing, we need to do it soon."

"How soon?" John asked. 

"Ideally, five minutes ago."

"And if it's not ideal?" 

Rodney gave him the stink-eye. "What part of dropping power levels do you not understand?"

"Great. Just what I didn't need to hear. Elizabeth, you need to get everyone to the gate room now."

Elizabeth already had her hand on her radio. "Attention, please. This is Dr. Weir. I need everyone to report to gate room for immediate evacuation to the Alpha site. Weir out."

"I hope you're reconsidering about going with them," John said.

"As long as some of my people are staying behind, I'm staying."

"There's not anything you can do here, Elizabeth," Rodney said, echoing John's concern. "There's always the chance something could go wrong, so if you insist on staying, promise me that if I tell you to evacuate, you'll dial the gate and leave immediately." 

She nodded reluctantly. "What about you and John?"

"Don't worry about us. We'll be right behind you," Rodney said. His eyes caught John's, silently sharing the knowledge of just how impossible that was likely to be, especially if the shield collapsed and left them to the mercy of the ocean.

John wasn't sure if she caught the interplay or if she came to her senses, but thank god, she finally relented. "All right. I'll leave." 

The gate room began filling with people. With a one last tight, concerned smile, Elizabeth walked down the stairs and joined the group gathering there. "Be safe."

The room shook. "What the hell is that?" John yelled at Rodney.

"Earthquake. We're still too close to the continental shelf. If we get caught in a tsunami — "

John didn't need him to finish that sentence. He grabbed Rodney's arm. "We need to move, now!"

In tandem, they turned and ran for the chair room, trusting Elizabeth to make sure everyone else got through the gate okay. It looked like they weren't going to get the jumper backup like he'd hoped. At least he wouldn't have to worry about Stackhouse and Markham, or that the Alpha site would be left without capable pilots. 

"Radek said he'd leave one of the jumpers primed and full of supplies for us," Rodney said, practically reading his mind. They were on the same wavelength so often these days that John no longer bothered to question it.

Atlantis rocked under their feet again just as they reached the chair room. John slid into the chair and it reclined immediately, lighting up almost before he could get his feet up onto the footrest. "I think she knows we're in trouble, Rodney."

He waited, watching as Rodney kept a death grip on the nearest console with one hand while keying up a data stream with the other. 

"The initial dampeners are offline. You need to take us farther away from the shore and deeper. But try not to put any more strain on the shield than necessary."

"Take us deeper but not too deep. Got it."

Coordinates scrolled up on the screen in front of him. Whatever Rodney was doing, John trusted him to do it while he concentrated on piloting a city-sized brick. Without warning, the control chair hummed under his hands and suddenly he didn't need to look at the monitors to know what was going on. The city was downloading the info directly into the chair interface. "McKay, did you do that?" 

"Oh good, it's working."

"Yeah, you could say that." He'd thought the hologram of the universe had been cool when it appeared over his head the first time he sat in the control chair. The hologram in front of him now made that one look like a grade school light show. 

The ocean around him hovered in sharp relief in front of his eyes. The graphic detail was amazing. Depth, pressure, and ocean currents filled a display that hung in the air to his right. Reefs, ground stability, and even the surrounding ocean life made an appearance. He thought about taking a closer look and suddenly a huge fish filled his view, each individual scale magnified to the size of his hand. 

Placing it back in perspective, as fish gazing wasn't what he was here for, John concentrated on piloting the city to a deeper, safer level.

As fascinating as it was, diving was nothing like flying. He could feel the pressure on the shield and he knew how much it was draining the ZPM. A bead of sweat ran down his forehead with the effort of moving Atlantis into deeper water. Fighting against the resistance of tons of water pressing in on all sizes took all of his attention. Cold. They were deeper now, the ocean cold reaching him through the chair interface. 

"Rodney, can you do something about the temperature? It's freezing in here."

The temperature started to rise, and with it, the intensity of his connection to the chair interface lessoned.

"Sorry. I had no idea accessing the data at that level through the chair would have that effect. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Rodney, the ZPM—"

"I know, we've used more power than we should have and no, I don’t know what caused it. We need that geothermal energy. Sooner rather than later."

No pressure, John muttered under his breath. He hated bad news but focusing on Rodney's voice helped dispel the cloying feeling of water pressing against his chest.

"I will look into it," Radek's soft voice came in on the radio.

Rodney lifted his hand to his earbud. "Radek? What are you still doing here? Where are you?" 

"You cannot do it all, no matter what your giant ego thinks, Rodney. One person cannot monitor the power levels, help Colonel Sheppard navigate, guide the geothermal platform, and hope to avoid disaster. Not even you."

Rodney looked gutted. "I can't believe you put yourself at risk like this."

"Bah, I am monitoring from safely inside a nice, warm puddle jumper. Should the shield collapse, I will be perfectly safe. You and the Colonel, however, will not, so I am here to make sure you do not make stupid mistakes."

The expression on Rodney's face was one of relived outrage. Sort of like the expression John wore on his face a lot when he was around Rodney. "Dr. Z, it's good to hear your voice. Any ideas on how to get our power back?"

"Sadly, no. Nothing Rodney would not have already thought of and dismissed. However, I do suggest we find a useable vent as soon as possible."

"Exactly what I thought," Rodney said.

"Assuming we find one large enough to generate enough power, " Radek added.

"Yes, of course, assuming we find one large enough, " Rodney huffed.

"Fortunately for us, I have already mapped many of the thermal vents. I am sending the coordinates of the most promising to the control chair. Be careful, Colonel, there is much seismic activity that you should avoid."

"Okay." John shot a look at Rodney.

"He means turbulence. It could get rough," Rodney said, answering his unspoken question. "I'm going to have to…." He took off his science jacket and laid it over John. 

John nodded knowing that Rodney meant to turn up the intensity of the chair interface. They were in uncharted, potentially dangerous waters. He needed the best information he could get in order to navigate. If that meant freezing his nuts off, he'd just have to deal with it. "Tell me again why we aren't heading to the mobile geothermal platform?"

"It's still hours away and we don't have hours. So, we're looking for a stationary geothermal vent, and hooking up to that."

"Normally this would not be possible, at least not possible on Earth. The smokers are too deep, " Radek said. "We would run out of power and be crushed long before we could reach the necessary depth. But here, with so much seismic activity, should be a piece of cake."

"A piece of cake. I'll have to take your word for it." John shivered. If they survived this, he intended to ask Rodney why he felt the cold of the ocean through the chair. Rodney certainly looked warm enough.  
He never expected that one day he'd be piloting a city-sized submarine. As cool as it was, he'd be glad when this was over and they were all safe—and warm. 

"McKay, how close are we?" The city readout would have told him but John desperately needed the connection of a human voice. Something to keep him from feeling like he was drowning under all that pressure weighing on the shield.

Rodney held up his hand. "We're coming up on the smoker now. You'll have to come in at an angle. Don't let it get too close to the stardrive."

"I know, Rodney." The chair began throwing information and warnings at him, display after display overlaying itself over his head. "Jesus, McKay, that's huge. Can the city handle that erupting under her?"

"More towards the aft if you please, Colonel Sheppard," Radek calmly directed over the intercom. "Turn the city to bring the Southeast quadrant over the chimney. Twelve degrees very slowly. We don't know what will happen if we are not precise." 

"I'm directing more power to the shield around the stardrive. I'll have to sacrifice one of the outer piers to do it though," Rodney said.

John felt it when that part of the shield collapsed. His left arm went numb from his elbow to wrist. "How much longer?" He was freezing, partially paralyzed, and he had no fucking idea how they planned to actually get the energy from the geothermal vent into the city. Okay, he might have said that last part out loud.

"Fortunately, the Ancients already had a solution to the engineering problem. Granted they had…you might not like this part." 

"What? They had what, McKay?"

"Nanites. They programmed nanites to create the power bridge. It didn't matter how many they lost in the process because they had an unlimited supply."

"Rodney!" John growled.

"Granted, they were programmed to interface with the drilling platform but Radek and I have made a few modifications to make up for that."

"You mean untested modifications." It didn't look like they had much choice so John didn't waste any more time arguing. "Just tell me it will work."

"It will work." Rodney hesitated before adding. "Watch out for cavitation. When we get close to the vent that's going to become a problem."

"Cavitation. Got it." 

"Why are you smiling?" Rodney asked.

"Steam, Rodney. We're about to convert Atlantis to steam power. It's very… Verneian."

Rodney shook his head, but it wasn't enough to hide his smile. John knew he got it. "We can discuss your secret love for steampunk later, Colonel." 

John grinned to himself. That was a conversation he was looking forward to. 

"Colonel Sheppard, we are in position. Keep the city from moving in the current, please. The nanites need time to begin building the bridge."

"Easier said than done, Radek." He could keep a helicopter hovering in a stiff wind; how different could this be? At least the principle was the same. He was so busy concentrating that it took him a few minutes to realize his connection to the chair had returned to normal and the feeling was back in his arm. He was even starting to warm up.

Rodney was looking down at him, with a laptop in hand, and a worried expression on his face. "Your lips were blue." 

Rodney looked like he wanted to hug him, and while that prospect didn't sound nearly as frightening as it should, he set it aside to explore later. "What's our status?" 

"We're good. Better than expected, considering." Rodney extended a hand to help him out of the chair, and John took it. The whole ordeal had taken more out of him than he cared to admit.

"As soon as we can, we need to get Carson back here to take a look at you. Hypothermia is nothing to play with." 

"I'll be fine, Rodney. Back to the point. Are you saying we have enough power to use the Stargate and power the shield?" 

"We do. Radek is running the equations now." Rodney tapped his earbud. "Radek, the Colonel wants to know how we're doing."

"Very well. The nanites have finished creating the bridge and have been deactivated. Their remains have been destroyed, burned up in the geothermal vent as we expected, Rodney. The shield is at full power, and I have extended it to cover the area of the lost pier. The ZPM is nearly depleted, but for now, we are safe."

~*~

John stepped out onto the balcony. It was weird not feel a breeze or scent the sea air, especially since they were surrounded by ocean. Rodney had assured him that it was perfectly safe; the shield had enough power to hold back the water for years. Not the ten thousand a ZPM would have of course, but enough for now. Granted, the city was going to be stuck here for a while, at least until they found another ZPM.

They'd be safe as long as the geothermal energy remained stable. Not knowing a definite time frame left John feeling uneasy. He knew wouldn't relax until they located a ZPM. He'd feel even better when they had enough power to engage the stardrive. 

Meanwhile, he'd take the one benefit they had out of this disaster. There was zero reason for the Wraith to troll a planet extinct of human life. Ironically, they were probably safer here from the Wraith than they'd ever been.

He'd come here after Carson released him from the infirmary with the assurance that there wasn't anything wrong with him that a good cup of hot tea or a shot of whiskey wouldn't fix. That suited him just fine. He tugged Rodney's jacket around his shoulders. He wasn't cold anymore, but he wasn't ready to give it up. 

"Oh, there you are!" Rodney stepped out onto the balcony and looked up. The shield's edge glowed softly against the pressure of the ocean. "I'll admit the view from here is a little unnerving. It's not so scary looking at it through a window. This feels…."

"Unprotected," John said.

"Very."

"But cool." John nudged him with his elbow. 

Rodney leaned into him. "It is that. I talked to Carson; he said you were going to be fine. What brought you out here anyway? I thought you'd be in the control room."

"Naw. I had some things to think about." John relaxed into the warmth of Rodney's broad shoulder pressed against his. Rodney didn't make any effort to move away and that was okay with him. Better than okay.

"Thinking?" Rodney asked. He waved his hand, encompassing the city, the shield, and the millions of tons of water overhead.

"Not that." John paused. "You gave me your jacket." He knew he wasn't mistaken. Rodney's hands had smoothed over his shoulders, a lover's caress, as he'd tucked the jacket around him. 

"I…of course I did. You were freezing to death."

"No, you gave me your jacket." He turned to face Rodney waiting for him to get it. He watched as Rodney's face turned a warm shade of pink and he became suddenly fascinated with the floor.

"Look at me." With two fingers, John raised Rodney's chin until he was facing him. "How long?"

"Since you pushed me off the balcony." 

"Not as long as me then. I've kinda known since the first time I sat in the chair and you asked me to show you our place in the universe. I just didn't want to admit it."

"And now?" 

"And now, I'd like to do something about it."

Moving slowly, John cradled Rodney's face in his hands. There was a hint of uncertainty in the bright blue eyes that stared back into his. This wasn't going to be a one-off and he needed Rodney to know that. Needed him to know this wasn't going to be about stolen, elusive moments. Not after he'd waited so long to get this far. 

The first touch of Rodney's mouth against his held him frozen. Of course, McKay would make the first move and beat him to it. The arrogance of the man, brashly bullying into John's romantic move, taking the first—oh—tongue!

John fisted his hands into Rodney's shirt to prevent him from moving away. Not that there seemed much risk of that, but he damn well wasn't taking any chances.

Long moments later, they broke apart. John needed to catch his breath and Rodney looked wrecked. His hair stood up in flyaway tuffs, his skin was flushed, and his mouth—his mouth. Undeniably drawn to it, John ran the pad of his thumb over Rodney's puffy, red, and abused mouth. God. Something possessive and primal clenched in his gut.

"John, did you just growl at me?"

~*~

John was in the middle of apartment hunting for him and Rodney when Elizabeth called him to her office. It had taken a couple of days to get everything back to normal, in part because she'd been furious at Rodney for using nanites and not telling her ahead of time. They'd had to run a 48-hour decon before she'd let anyone back into Atlantis. He'd agreed; it was a wise precaution.

It seemed unlikely that she intended to bring that issue up again. Maybe she had a problem with his relationship with Rodney? DADT hadn't been an issue with the SGC since it became an international program. So, while they hadn't rubbed their new relationship in anyone's face, they hadn't made a secret of it either. 

By the time he arrived, Bates, Rodney, and Teyla were already there. Elizabeth's eyes were bright with excitement and it was obvious that he'd stepped into the middle of an ongoing discussion.

"Ma'am," Bates stood stiffly, clearly unhappy, "if you don't mind my saying so, the security ramifications are going to be a nightmare."

Teyla leaned forward wearing an expression of extreme reasonableness that didn't fool John for a minute. "My people would be happy to help with the security of Atlantis, as we have offered to many times in the past."

"Thank you for your opinions, Teyla, Sargent Bates. Clearly, we have some details to work out." Elizabeth smiled an evil, head-for-the-hills smile. "I expect the both of you to work together and resolve any issues before they can become a problem.

"Now then," Elizabeth paced in front of her desk, clearly on a roll, "as I said earlier, we're not thinking big enough. This planet is in the throes of an extinction level event and I intend to use that to our advantage. As Dr. McKay pointed out earlier, the Wraith have no reason to come to a planet that's become uninhabitable. 

"We're living in an Ancient city the size of Manhattan for heaven's sake," she continued. "I intend to open the doors and provide a safe haven for anyone who is willing to work with us and turn Atlantis into a city of hope." 

It sounded good. If they could make it work. John reached out for Rodney's hand, open and ready for him. Things were going to change, but as he'd learned recently, change could be a damn good thing.

~*~


End file.
